Repairs

Perhaps for a person who has never done this, the question of how to level the floor itself will seem impossible and accessible only to professional builders. In reality, there is nothing complicated in the leveling of the floor surface, and every person can do it himself, if previously he acquaints himself with the step-by-step instruction and stores high-quality materials.

Before you put the floor covering, the floor should be leveled with a coupler.

Dry screed

The leveling of the floor is a compulsory measure, since even the best coating requires preparation of the foundation, otherwise the repair work will often be short-lived. Advantages of a dry screed are that its use does not require such a long time for full hardening and strength setting, like traditional self-leveling floors. This technology can be used for leveling wooden floors, and for reinforced concrete. Materials and tools will require the following:

Floor scheme lined with a dry screed.

• polyethylene film;
• level;
• special mixture.

To make a dry screed, to lay the floor on its prepared, cleaned and dry surface, laid out a plastic film. It is needed for waterproofing the surface. Directly onto the film a layer of 5-7 cm is filled with an equalizing granular mixture, specially designed for this purpose.

The layer of such a mixture has not only an equalizing, but also a heat-insulating effect. Therefore, you can level the floor with a dry screed and at the same time not insulate it further, which is also an advantage. Directly on the leveling layer is put sheet material, laying dry screed on this can be considered complete. The benefits of a dry screed are several, the main ones are those that the preparation of a solution is not required, and in the room right after the floor leveling it is possible to walk. Paving the necessary communications on a dry screed is much easier.

Cement-sand alignment

This screed is used for leveling the foundation, slab-slabs and for leveling the concrete floor, height difference from 2 to 6 cm. This process is called building up to the required level of the main slab, and the required level must be determined in advance. Cement-sand screed creates a high-quality, even and durable layer for the subsequent application of the finish coat, such as tiles, laminate or linoleum. Technologically, the execution of works from this screed is quite a complicated process, since in order to obtain a good floor covering as a result, it is necessary to comply with all the necessary norms and rules. To apply this coating you will need:

Scheme of laying sand-cement screed.

• sand;
• cement;
• armature;
• waterproofing materials;
• level;
• затирочная машина;
• boards for formwork.

After the floor surface is cleaned and fully prepared for work, it needs to be divided into sections and set up the formwork. Then the floor needs to be reinforced with metal fittings, the specially designed rods are suitable for this purpose. Select the material for reinforcement, depending on the composition of the floor covering and the height of the screed. You can use a special reinforcing mesh, fixing it on the ground with a construction stapler. Grid sheets (if necessary, connect them) are made with a spacing of at least 5 cm so that the displacement does not leave the floor area without additional reinforcement. The guiding beacons are placed on the floor every 50-80 cm so that their level coincides throughout the room.

To increase the strength of the floor and reduce the possibility of cracks, it is necessary to cut the shrinkage joints. To maintain integrity for a long time, waterproofing is used. The choice of materials depends on the type of floor, as there are several of them and their characteristics are slightly different.

Before pouring sand-cement screed exposed beacons in 50-80 cm.

The strength and quality of the coating is affected by the degree of compaction. When stacking the mixture, it is necessary to do this evenly, without prolonged intervals between portions. The big difference in the laying time forms cold seams, which affects the strength of the coating from the negative side.

An important factor is the use of a trowel, which processes the floor surface in two different directions. Using this tool allows you to obtain an ideal smoothness of the coating. All stages of the work must be carefully controlled by means of a level, since the frozen coating will be very difficult to destroy. After the trowel does its work, the floor can be applied to the finish coat, paint it or lay parquet and laminate.

Self-leveling compounds

Screed lay on the lighthouses, aligning it with the rule.

Finishing coating of any type requires an ideally flat floor under it, as otherwise the possibility of its premature destruction increases. Self-leveling mixture for sex helps to solve this problem to the full. This type of mixture is a special solution that can easily spread out and form a smooth surface, filling all the irregularities. To use it you will need:

• building mixer;
• cement;
• sand;
• water;
• строительный level;
• putty knife;
• toys.

The self-leveling mixture dries out quickly enough that in some situations it can be considered a disadvantage. Work with her participation should be carried out at a fast pace. The premise of a large area is preferable to divide into small areas with the help of formwork. If it is decided to fill a large room, then you need to prepare the right amount of mixture immediately, so that it has time to level off. During the laying, the temperature of the mixture should not fall below 10ºC. Apply the mixture with a spatula, construction or serrated. The flow time of the mixture is calculated in advance, it is from 20 minutes to an hour.

This floor dries in half an hour, but full setting does not occur earlier than 3 days. It is not recommended that the self-leveling coating be painted and left without applying a finishing coat. When applying the mixture, the temperature in the room should not drop below 5ºC, and no other finishing work can be carried out until complete hardening.

Preparation of the solution

The self-leveling mixture is poured and leveled with a needle roller to remove air bubbles.

It is this stage of work that is almost the most important, since the wrong proportions of the preparation of the solution will negate all efforts to level the floor. If there is an excess of water in the mixture, then after hardening it can go cracked and have absolutely no strength. Insufficient amount of water will make the mixture inconvenient for work due to non-plasticity.

Cement and sand, too, require compliance with the proportions, and therefore follow the manufacturer's recommendations need exactly.

Mixtures are mixed with special construction mixers or in a concrete mixer. If a wooden floor is to be installed over the concrete screed, it is required to put it on it after the lag is frozen. There is a coating that can be put even on an uneven floor, this is a laminate. Influence of small irregularities its structure can be eliminated, since it is quite elastic. But the heat-retaining properties of the laminate does not have this, so it is impossible to apply it in every room. Significant unevenness of the floor still require correction, since even a laminate can not be installed on them.

The solution must be mixed thoroughly before use, and it can be used no longer than 40 minutes after preparation.

Surface preparation

Floor scheme with screed.

To the floor, which is leveled independently, does not differ from the work of the master, you need to make a quality screed. Before you start this type of work, the surface of the floor should be carefully prepared. The first stage of the preparation of the floor is to remove all previous coatings and clean the substrate. After the surface of the floor is only concrete, it needs to be checked for moisture. The surface of the floor is examined, since it is necessary to remove cracks, voids and irregularities. After that, the floor is primed.

Before leveling the floor, you need to prepare a roughing base for pouring. This process involves mandatory sealing of all cracks, voids and holes with a dry mix. If cracks and potholes remain untouched in the hope that they will be filled with the mixture and the problem is solved, it is possible to obtain as a result their expansion under the action of a solidified mixture. Cracks can expand very strongly and as a result, destroy the entire base or cause leaking of the mixture to be poured.

При подготовке поверхности пола к дальнейшей укладке выбранного материала нужно быть готовым к тому, что состояние бетонных плит бывает зачастую очень плохим. Поэтому, если присутствуют всевозможные дефекты сразу, предпочтительнее будет не экономить на материале, а сразу использовать наливные смеси. Они придают старому начавшему разрушаться бетону новый запас прочности. Для того чтобы качественно выровнять пол самому, потребуется установить toys. В целом выравнивание пола может быть произведено несколькими способами. Наливная стяжка является самым популярным, но обстоятельства могут сложиться таким образом, что более удобным будет другой.

Alignment

Align the wooden floor with a cycle.

Align the floor itself is possible and if it is wooden. You do not need to tear down the boards if they are strong enough, they do not have cracks and knots, there is no creak and undulating buckling on the entire surface of the floor. If the boards and logs are in a normal state, you do not need to lose time to change them, so you can save time and money. Most often the tree shrivels in places, and in places swells from spilled water, which creates a difference in altitude on the surface.

Классическим методом, позволяющим выровнять деревянный пол, является его циклевание, но, помимо него, существуют способы менее трудоемкие, хотя и не всегда подходящие. На деревянных поверхностях надлежащего качества, так же как и на всех прочих, может быть использован метод шпаклевки или стяжки, а также укладывание поверх листовых материалов. Alignment чаще всего имеет цель улучшения внешнего вида путем устранения неровностей, и перед этим нужно определить степень неровности пола, воспользовавшись уровнем.

Errors of the surface drop to 0.5 cm inclusive are considered insignificant and plastered with sealant or putty, preferably acrylic. However, pure acrylic has a small strength, and it is more desirable to take the mixture with the inclusion of PVA glue. The surface is covered with a waterproof primer to improve the adhesion of the mixture to be filled and the base of wood. Wooden walls in the lower part are pasted with a material that allows to preserve waterproofing.

If irregularities reach 3-4 cm or even more, resort to the use of screed. In this case, you need to take care that the wood floors do not rot, having installed a ventilation system. The classical way of device of this system is a hole drilled in a corner of the room, closed by a grid with small cells.